Ch. 20: Invasion (2)

'Explain. Now.' I commanded Shay, angry. Shay would never go against my orders, which meant that she misinterpreted them somehow. What did Raditz have to do with anything? He was still in Hell after his battle with Goku less than a year ago, right?

The more Shay explained, the more annoyed I got.

I'd once told Shay that Piccolo wouldn't need to die if Raditz was there, but I hadn't really meant it. I couldn't trust Raditz as far as I could throw him. He'd been responsible for my father's death, after all. Shay'd taken it to heart as a part of my strategy, though. While I'd been planning to have Nappa kill Piccolo, she'd thought that my plan was to let Raditz deal with all the problem that would surface when Piccolo didn't die.

When I'd told her to 'release Raditz and have him fight my dad' back when dad was on Snake Way, she'd thought that I'd meant to totally release him, and bring him back to life as well. As a result, Raditz had been alive all year, training alongside my dad to beat the Saiyans. Somehow, along the way, he'd even decided to become a better person, though I doubted that he'd actually ever manage it.

When my dad got here in a mere hour, Raditz would be by his side. They'd defeat Vegeta and Nappa, push them back into their space pods, and then Raditz would explain that they were probably going to Namek to use the dragon balls there instead.

Naturally, Piccolo wouldn't be able to hear of his home world being attacked without doing anything, so they'd end up on their way to planet Namek as soon as Bulma refurbished Kami's old spaceship, since the Dragon Balls wouldn't be recharged for a full year. It'd probably end up being me, Krillin, Piccolo, Gohan, Goku, and Raditz going, since Goku wasn't going to be laid up with all those broken bones that he had in the anime.

Shay's plan was better than mine. By far, it was better. But I couldn't accept it.  I just couldn't trust Raditz... but for some reason, Shay did.

'Mistress, if you want me to kill Raditz, I'll do it... but I think that you should trust him. I want you to trust him.' She told me. It felt like I'd been struck by lightning. I'd never heard Shay actually beg me for anything before. She'd always just agreed with whatever I said, happy to be by my side. After thirty years of service, my little dragon was finally expressing her own wish. I couldn't say no, even if it messed with the canon.

'Alright. I can't trust Raditz yet, but I trust you, Shay. We'll try it your way.' I decided. Even though she didn't have a face at the moment, I could feel that Shay was smiling at me.

...

When I got to the spot where Piccolo and Gohan were at, Piccolo greeted me immediately. "It's nice to see you again, Hanna."

"Hanna!" Gohan hugged me unexpectedly. He seemed surer of himself than he'd been the last time I'd seen him. More confident, too. Piccolo's training'd done wonders for him this time around. I suppose jumping out of that cave with the robot towards the end of his survival training had changed something within Gohan, because he'd clearly developed a little bit of steel. He was still nervous about the upcoming fight, but he didn't look ready to run this time.

"You've grown so much, little bro!" Technically, Gohan and I were twins, but my body seemed to be a year or so older than his thanks to my time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, so I could now call him my 'little bro.' Big Sister Status: Attained!

"Thanks, but you've clearly grown a lot too." Gohan rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed at having been complemented.

"Guys, get ready! It seems that there might be one more Saiyan than we expected! I can feel another strong energy coming this way!" Piccolo shouted. Naturally, that was Krillin. After he landed and exchanged a few words of mutual acknowledgement with Piccolo, he mentioned my dad.

"I talked to Goku not that long ago, guys. He might be a little late, but he'll be here." Krillin said. Naturally, I already knew that, but I still acted as surprised and happy as Gohan did.

"That's great! Thanks, Krillin!" Gohan started asking Krillin about his childhood, and how people thought that he couldn't fight because he was so short. After a hasty excuse, Krillin asked Gohan how Piccolo's training went, concerned because nobody else had ever undergone it.

"Piccolo's not that bad. He can be a little intense, sure, but once you get used to him, he's like my big green uncle!" 

Ignoring Krillin's surprised face, Piccolo immediately shouted "Hey! That's enough small talk. They're here!" Some of his nervous energy probably came from annoyance at Gohan calling him 'big green uncle,' but Vegeta and Nappa really were here.

"What do you think these four are doing out in the middle of nowhere?" Nappa asked Vegeta, savoring the feeling of looking down on ants from above as they descended to the ground in front of the Z-fighters.

"I think they were waiting for us. Yes, I'm sure of it." Vegeta answered. Krillin and Gohan trembled at the mere sight of the Saiyans, afraid.

"They're so strong! What are we gonna do, guys?" Krillin asked, feeling hopeless. Nobody responded to him.

Vegeta laughed as he and Nappa landed, still high on their feelings of superiority, "So... We meet at last."

"Wow. I'm soo scared. Go home, idiots." I told Vegeta and Nappa in order to anger them. Nappa was dumb enough to fall for it, but Vegeta held him back.

"Trying to rile up a Saiyan? Not a smart move, you know." He told me.

"I'm only going to say this once. Leave this planet. This is your first and last chance to get out of this alive." Piccolo warned them.

Recognizing Piccolo's voice, Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "That voice!" he thought aloud, "I see. You're the one who defeated Raditz one year ago."

"My voice?" Piccolo wondered for a moment. Vegeta reminded him of the communication function on their scouters.